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Education Building
Photo by Mark Hansen
When Audubon Nebraska purchased Spring Creek Prairie (formerly the O'Brien ranch) in 1998, staff and volunteers moved
into the small two-bedroom ranch house on site and converted the interior to office space and a small exhibit area. Since
then, interest and excitement over Audubon's tallgrass prairie sanctuary has grown substantially. With monthly family nature
programs, school field trips, special events, and attendance reaching into the thousands each year, more space was needed.
This wish has been fulfilled with the completion of the new education building. It will help us accomplish our goals of
preserving this special prairie and educating the public about the beauty, diversity, and importance of tallgrass prairie.
The building was designed to support our conservation mission. It blends into the site with its low profile against the windbreak and the
exterior color matched to big bluestem, a native tallgrass prairie grass species found here. The view from inside the building focuses visitors'
attention on the outdoor prairie experience and encourages trail exploration.
Site orientation
- Oriented to maximize passive solar exposure.
- Occupies a previously disturbed location adjacent to existing windbreak.
Energy efficiency
- Roof overhangs block sun’s rays in summer, allow rays in during winter.
- Super-insulated wall and roof assemblies:
- Fourteen-inch, R55 baled biomass (hay and straw) walls;
- Eight-inch, R28 structural insulated roof and wall panels;
- Six- and twelve-inch, R14 and R28 recycled cotton denim batt insulation in education room.
- High-efficiency heating, ventilating, and air conditioning units in four zones.
- Adjustable-speed and reversible ceiling fans.
- Light fixtures fitted with energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps.
- Solar outdoor lighting along trails around building.
Salvaged and reclaimed material
- Corrugated metal from the deconstructed pole shed previously on site.
- Salvaged ceramic tiles and dishes used in dragonfly mosaic and janitorial closet.
- Blackboards salvaged from an old campus building and reused as countertops.
- Salvaged wood (2x4s and 2x6s) reused as trim throughout the education room and in hidden substructural members.
- Wood wainscot salvaged from a deconstructed building (purchased from Ecostores).
- Wood salvaged from local sources reused in gift shop display cases.
- Reclaimed crushed concrete in the parking lot, fire lane, and accessible trails.
- Locally salvaged limestone and glacial rock used in splash-blocks and stepping stones.
Renewable and sustainably harvested materials
- 600 bales of biomass used to construct the walls:
- 200 bales of prairie flora (baled hay) harvested from Spring Creek Prairie;
- 400 local wheat straw bales (agricultural waste material).
- Non-native Siberian elm, sycamore, and green ash (weed trees) in finish trim and in the seating in the Grand Prairie Hall and offices,
locally obtained from Southeast Nebraska and milled by the Big Red Sawmill in Palmyra.
- Bamboo plywood in trim, veneer, and displays.
- Certified sustainably harvested wood trusses.
Recycled materials
- Cotton denim recycled into batt insulation used in steel stud walls.
- Used carpet recycled into carpet tiles.
- Rubber recycled into the fatigue mat behind reception desk.
- Plastic milk jugs recycled into picnic tables (4,000 jugs each), benches (1,500 jugs each), directional kiosk (330 jugs),
bicycle rack (1,800 jugs), and curb stops (300 jugs each).
- Recycled-content steel in posts and beams and steel wall studs.
- Plastics recycled into the outdoor waste receptacles.
Other green features
- Low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints used throughout building.
- Low flow urinals and toilets, with two dual-flush toilets.
- Fly ash content in the concrete.
Local products and suppliers were employed to support our local economy and to decrease the energy inputs used in transportation. Our ongoing
commitment includes on-site recycling of paper, glass, plastics, and metals, as well as the purchase of items that use recycled materials.
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